


Complicated

by Zerrah



Category: Oxenfree
Genre: F/M, Post-Game(s), Signs of PTSD, Smut, Step-Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 07:56:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12979578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerrah/pseuds/Zerrah
Summary: The night they met, his first impression of Alex was that she was beautiful in a unique way. She had tan skin, with ancestry that was more diverse than 90% of the kids at school. She dyed her hair teal blue, which told Jonas that she didn’t care too much what people thought of her. She was also just...beautiful. He tried not to stare when she smiled at him, and quickly suppressed certain thoughts with the knowledge that they were inappropriate.This was his new younger sister, what was he thinking? And she had just lost a brother. He didn’t want to make things...complicated. Or weird.





	Complicated

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this for a while, finally decided to post part of this story so that I feel motivated to finish. Second and final chapter will be posted soon.

Jonas let the luggage that contained the remainder of his belongings slip from his fingers. He took a deep breath, and stared at the door in front of him. This was it. His new home. Apparently, the only extra room in the house also happened to be the attic. Not that he averse to a little extra privacy, it was just...different. He sighed, then grabbed both bags with one hand while opening the door with the other.

The ceiling of the room was slanted, which Jonas thought was kind of cool, and made the room seem larger than it really was. Sunlight poured in through two windows, casting light on a twin bed, a desk with a laptop, and a small dresser. His father had sold most of their furniture when they had moved, so a majority of what he had brought with him was clothing, but he did have a couple of posters he could tape to the wall to make it feel more...homey.

He leaned over the desk and fiddled with the laptop, and wondered distantly if it had once belonged to Alex’s brother. This had been his room, after all.

“Do you need any help unpacking?” Jonas started, feeling as if he almost jumped out of his skin. He turned, and saw Alex standing in the doorway, giving him a sheepish look.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, waving his hand. “I didn’t bring much with me, so it shouldn’t take me that long.”

“All right.” Alex seemed to hesitate, then took a few steps until she was in the center of the room. “Let me know if you need anything. When Mi--, well, we’re going to have to share the bathroom on my floor. I’ll try not to hog it. The only time I may spend longer in there is when I dye my hair.”

“That’s not a problem,” he said, and almost added, _your hair looks good,_ but thought maybe it would sound weird. They stood together in awkward silence. Alex gave him a half smile.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you at dinner.” She turned, but paused at the doorway.

“Jonas...have you told anyone?”

She didn’t need to elaborate; he already knew what she meant. “No. I haven’t talked about what happened at all since that morning we left on that boat. I think...if someone had told me before that night, I would never have believed them. You know?”

She nodded slowly. “I’ll see you later.”

After she left, he exhaled slowly. Alex seemed intense, but he wasn’t sure if that was part of her nature, a byproduct of losing her brother, or...that night.

Later that evening, he tried to sleep, tossing and turning, and woke up several times to visions of Clarissa jumping out of a building, and Alex with her eyes glowing red. Each time he woke in a panic, covered in sweat, and told himself, _it’s okay, Clarissa is alive, and Alex is downstairs, she’s fine,_ but it would always take him at least an hour to fall back asleep.

 

*****

 

He was in the bathroom, groggily brushing his teeth when Alex barged in.

“Ah! Sorry,” she squeaked, stumbling back. Jonas blinked, and looked down. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his pajamas were riding rather low, but he wasn’t _naked._ Her voice shifted from mortified to irritated. “Don’t you lock the door?”

“Don’t you knock?” he tried to shoot back, but his mouth was full of toothpaste, so the words came out slurred and incomprehensible.

She slammed the door shut, and he tried not to groan. Was this what it was like to have siblings? Jonas had always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister, but he hadn’t taken into account the whole ‘barging in on people in the bathroom’ possibility.

After taking a shower, he came downstairs to the kitchen and saw Alex leaning over a bowl of cereal. She was red in the face, and refused to look up. Jonas sighed.

“Sorry for, ah, not locking the door. I’m not used to having a girl in the house. Well, besides my mom.”

Alex slowly looked up at him, and gave him a small smile. “It’s fine. Sorry for not knocking.”

He grabbed a bowl and spoon from the cupboards, sat down across from Alex and reached for the cereal. _And it’s resolved, just like that,_ he thought, secretly pleased. They sat in companionable silence until it was time to go to school.

 

*****

 

Nightmares dragged Jonas awake from his deep sleep like a sharp undertow. In the dream, the Sunken had him again, and he walked and talked like a marionette puppet, while the people around him were oblivious. Then he was back on the island, towering over Alex in the old cabin as she gazed up at him with wide, terrified eyes. His hands had slipped around her thin, pale throat and he had begun to squeeze, but then he awoke.

His heart was pounding in his ears and he was covered in a thin sweat. His room was illuminated dimly by the streetlights outside. After laying there for several minutes, he came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be falling asleep anytime soon, and climbed out of bed, threw on a shirt and shorts, and headed downstairs.

Jonas was surprised to see Alex in the living room, perched on one of the chairs with her feet tucked under her knees. The lights were out, but the television was on, casting an eerie glow on their surroundings.

“What are you doing awake?” he murmured.

“Can’t sleep. I haven’t been sleeping much lately. I’d rather just watch TV than lay awake in bed.” Jonas glanced over to the screen, where a black and white show was playing.

“Mind if I join you?” Alex smiled, so he plopped down on the couch. They watched what he eventually realized was a Twilight Zone episode, but Jonas couldn’t help but look over to Alex, who was hugging her knees to her chest.

Once a commercial aired, Jonas asked, “So, ah, you said you haven’t been sleeping much lately. How many hours do you think you get a night?”

Alex tilted her head to the side. “Maybe about four to five hours.”

Jonas whistled. “I’ve been having trouble sleeping, but I think I would feel like zombie at school if I was only getting four hours of sleep.”

Alex shrugged. “I drink a lot of energy drinks. It helps me stay awake, at least.”

“Yeah, I guess that would work.” He scratched the back of his head. “When did this start for you?”

“I’ve been having a lot of nightmares since Edward's Island. I keep...I keep getting flashbacks of the ghosts. How they mocked us, and made us play those weird games. I feel like a part of me is still there, and never left. I feel like…” She shrugged her legs even closer to her, and rested her head against her knees. “I feel like they touched my soul with something icy, and the coldness spread, and I walk around now always feeling at least a little chilled. Or when I’m pulled into those memories, I’m completely frozen.”

Jonas swallowed past a lump in his throat. “That’s not good Alex.” His gaze traveled down to her throat, and he remembered that dream, his fingers wrapped around her neck. He had hated that feeling, the horror of being completely powerless as he caused harm to...someone he cared for.

“I know,” she said quietly. “This reminds me of the weeks after Michael died. How I...couldn’t save him...he kept screaming and flailing in the water, and I was frozen…” Alex dragged the heel of her palm over her eyes, and he wondered if she was crying. It was difficult to see with the lights out. “I didn’t sleep much then, either.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Jonas whispered. He kneeled before her and pulled her into a hug, which she eventually reciprocated. “I know I’m not Michael, but I’m here for you. We’ll get through this. We got off the island, we escaped. All of that is behind us.” He traced his hand up and down her back, gazing down at her teal hair.

“Thank you, Jonas.” They stayed like that for several moments, and he ignored the blare of the television that indicated commercials were over and the show was back on. Eventually, he pulled back and said, “Why don’t you sit with me? We can watch the rest of the show together.”

Jonas was a little surprised that she agreed without question. She had seemed strong-willed on the island, but tonight he had witnessed a more vulnerable side to Alex. He could relate; he went through the same emotions of guilt and pain when he had lost his mother. Maybe, like him, she was just tired of keeping up walls.

Alex curled up next to him, and he put his arm around her shoulder. They watched the show, and eventually Jonas saw that her eyes were closed, her cheek pressed against his chest. He felt this...warmth. Like he understood what she went through and wanted to keep her safe.

Seeing her long, reddish-brown lashes at odds with her luminous, teal colored hair also made Jonas uncomfortably aware of how attractive Alex was, but he pushed those thoughts down, deep down. This closeness he was feeling was because she was family now, nothing more, he told himself.

The next thing he remembered, he woke up to the morning rays filling the living room, and Alex was still draped across his chest, sleeping. Jonas smiled.

 

*****

They fell into an unspoken routine. During the day they were like brother and sister, discussing school with their parents and getting into irrelevant arguments about small things like, _Jonas, did you really have to eat the last slice of bread? Now I only have end pieces for my lunch tomorrow,_ I’m not sure what _the heck you have spread out across the bathroom sink, but would you mind cleaning it up?_ At night, after their parents went to bed, they comforted one another and talked about their past, secret fears, and dreams of the future.

He was leaning against the back porch, taking long drags from his cigarette, when Alex stepped outside to join him.

“I never see you smoking when our parents are awake. Does your dad know you smoke?”

“I think he might have his suspicions, but he hasn’t said anything…and I’d rather, ah, avoid having that conversation with him. I mean, I already understand the health risks that come with smoking.”

Alex hoisted herself up on the edge of the porch railing, and watched him. “That makes sense.”

Jonas took another drag and looked out across the backyard where the grass met the shadows of the woods behind their house. He could hear crickets, which had signaled to him since his childhood the beginning of spring.

“Can I ask you a personal question, Jonas?”

Jonas raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead.”

“What was your last girlfriend like?”

He shifted from one foot to the other. That was definitely not a question he was expecting. “I don’t know...I’m not sure what you mean. What did she look like? Well, she was tall, wore a lot of black, had a nose ring. What did she act like? She sometimes skipped school and listened to a lot of punk music. We dated for about seven months.”

“Is that the kind of girl you like?” Alex bit her lip.

Why was she asking these questions? It couldn’t possibly mean...no way. He couldn’t believe that. Still, the base of his neck tingled with anticipation.

“That’s usually the kind of girl I go for, sure. Of course, I’m not exactly a prime candidate for brainy chicks or popular girls. My grades aren’t so great, and I did spend time in juvie.” He looked at the ground, not wanting to see Alex’s expression.

“I think you’re smart, Jonas. Plus, anyone who talks crap about someone’s dead mom deserves to get their ass kicked.”

Jonas chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Thanks.” He flicked the cigarette butt near the porch and stepped on it, grinding it into the earth.

“Did you sleep with her?”

He swung around and looked at Alex, who seemed to be fixated on the porch door handle. Her cheeks looked red.

He stopped himself right before he questioned why the hell she would ask him that kind of question. For some reason, he didn’t want this bond between them to end, which seemed to be rooted in transparency and primordial need for trust, ever since that night. Plus, he felt...curious, where this conversation would lead them.

“Yeah, we slept together. I mean, that isn’t the only thing we did. She gave me head plenty of times leading up to that.” He observed Alex for a reaction, and her eyes flickered to him when he said, “head,” but then zeroed in on the door again.

“What about you? Who was the last guy you dated?” he said after a long, awkward silence. _This calls for another cigarette,_ he thought, as he fished inside his jacket pockets for a pack and a lighter.

“I haven’t really dated anyone since Freshman year. I went out a few times with a couple of guys, but it never led to anything serious.”

“That’s a surprise,” he said, which was the truth. Alex was hot; definitely hotter than his ex, but he wasn’t going to mention that. “I mean, you seem like the type that would get asked out a lot.”

She laughed softly and finally looked at him. “Thanks.”

Jonas lit another cigarette, and they began to talk about other things...more normal topics. His mind kept drifting back to her questions, though. Maybe she only asked because she was curious, but then why did she act so nervous?

The night they met, his first impression of Alex was that she was beautiful in a unique way. She had tan skin, with ancestry that was more diverse than 90% of the kids at school. She dyed her hair teal blue, which told Jonas that she didn’t care too much what people thought of her. She was also just...beautiful. He tried not to stare when she smiled at him, and quickly suppressed certain thoughts with the knowledge that they were inappropriate.This was his new younger sister, what was he thinking? And she had just lost a brother. He didn’t want to make things...complicated. Or weird.

“So, ah, now it’s my turn to ask you something. How far have you gone with a guy?” And really, he had enough practice blocking any inappropriate fantasies; he shouldn’t be thinking of Alex on her knees, gazing up at him.

Alex did a half-shrug with one shoulder. “I have some experience,” she replied evasively. “Let’s go inside. Are you up for watching some tv?”

“Sure.” He tried to keep the concern out of his voice. It was already close to midnight and she wanted to stay awake even longer on a school night? “How have you been sleeping?”

“Pretty much the same as always,” she replied over her shoulder. “Well, ever since that night.”

They walked down the hallway until they were standing between the foyer and living room. Jonas caught her arm before she went into the living.

“I just thought of something that might help you sleep,” he said, forcing the words past a lump in his throat.

“I’m all ears. Lay it on me.”

“Why don’t you try sleeping next to me? You fell asleep pretty quickly when I was holding you. It might help.” He let out a shaky breath, hoping that Alex couldn’t see how nervous he felt. “I’d hate for things to get worse for you, and you can’t live off energy drinks forever.”

Her facial expression was neutral, so it was hard to read her reaction. “I could tell my mom that I can’t sleep, and maybe she could take me to the doctor. They would prescribe me pills.”

Jonas gave her a small smile. “I think you would have done that already if you wanted to. Correct me if I’m wrong.”

She looked over to the couch. “Should we sleep over there, or…”

“It’s up to you, whatever makes you feel more comfortable.”

Alex nodded slowly. “Maybe we should try sleeping in your bed. It would probably be more comfortable than the couch.”

“Yeah, sure.” He let Alex lead the way, but his heart was pounding in his ears. Why did he feel so nervous? He had slept next to a girl before, this wasn’t anything new.

Jonas didn’t bother turning on the light when they reached his room, especially since the blinds were open and the streetlights provided just enough light for them to see their surroundings. He was afraid that anything too jarring might break the spell, and cause Alex to change her mind.

Jonas didn’t want her to change her mind. He wanted her to stay.

Jonas took off his shirt and beanie, oscillated over whether or not to keep his pants on, but stripped with Alex when she removed her jeans. She struggled a bit under her shirt before throwing her bra over her jeans and slipping into his bed, and he pulled off his shirt and joined her a minute later.

There was an uncomfortable moment when Alex seemed frozen, staring up at the ceiling, while Jonas was lying on his side, looking at her. There wasn’t much room, and he was afraid he would fall off the bed if he laid on his back. He mustered the courage to put an arm around her like he had done downstairs on the couch all those weeks ago, and she surprised him by turning on her side so she was facing him, slipping a hand around his waist. They stared at one another in the dim light.

“Umm…” He felt so confused. With any other woman, he would have assumed that they were dropping enough signals to show they were interested, but Alex was his step-sister, and had a legitimate problem sleeping due to a shared trauma.

She touched his cheek with her hand; her eyes were heavy-lidded, and she whispered, “thank you, Jonas.” Then she kissed him.

He felt like there were fireworks going off between his ears. The kiss was sloppy and hot, and he _knew_ this was so wrong, but it seemed to satisfy this deep ache in the core of his being. Jonas sucked on her lower lip, her tongue, he grabbed her hips and pressed them together until their legs became tangled. His cock, which had already begun to throb, strained against his stomach.

He flipped them so that he was hovering over Alex while she lay stretched out on her back, and worked his way up her shirt with his fingers, teasing and massaging her skin as his tongue explore her mouth. She whimpered into the kiss, and it made him burn hotter, the fireworks brighter.

Jonas settled between her legs until his cock, straining against his boxers, was pressed against the thin cotton lining of her panties. He dragged himself over her clit over and over again, moaning as she clawed at his back, egging him on.

While maintaining the rhythm, with Alex making wanton sounds and writhing beneath him, he pressed his lips to her ear. “How far do you want to take this?”

“Jonas, I’ve never,” her hips bucked, and she cried out. “I’ve never gone further than this with a guy before. Please, I just want…”

“What do you want?”

“I want to come, please!”

Jonas pulled himself to his knees and felt the slick burn of her skin as his hands skimmed her ribcage, waist, the curve of her ass, and her upper thighs. His fingers traced the inner lining of her panties, and he pressed her hip down when she squirmed. “You’re so soaked Alex,” he said huskily. Then, he leaned down and pressed his lips over her clit.

For the next few minutes, Jonas sucked, circled his tongue around her clit and even nipped gently, causing Alex to jump. She moaned helplessly, and he held her still in a vice-like grip. It gave him a heady sense of power that she was completely at his mercy, and he felt a rush of satisfaction when she finally stilled, crying his name as she soaked the bed.

Jonas sat up and then draped himself over her body, pulling himself out of his boxers. He pressed his cock against her panties between her legs. “Squeeze your thighs together,” he told her, then fucked the space between her cunt and thighs, savoring the friction. He pressed his lips to her neck as he finally came.

They laid there, breathing heavily, sweaty and sticky, and Jonas decided that he _really_ wanted to try this again.

*****

Jonas blearily opened his eyes as sunlight spilled into the room. For one disorienting moment, he noticed that Alex wasn’t in bed with him anymore, and his eyebrows drew together in concern. It took another minute for his brain to kick in, and he realized that it was probably a very good thing that she went back to her own bed before their parents woke up. He wasn’t sure how they would have responded, if they would have assumed the worse which, granted, he and Alex _had_ probably done that last night, but it wasn’t something he wanted them to think about, let alone worry over.

The state of his sheets were embarrassing, but made him grin at the same time, and he stripped the bed and shoved them to the bottom of the hamper. Probably best if he took care of that when no one was home.

Jonas took a quick shower and dressed before heading downstairs, and was surprised to see that Alex wasn’t there, probably having already left for school. He had the fleeting thought that maybe she was avoiding him, but didn’t really start to ruminate over it until later in the afternoon, when he was halfway through classes and hadn’t bumped into her once, which was unusual. They didn’t share any classes together but they typically crossed paths in the hallway a few times throughout the day. He couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she would freak out and tell his dad or her mom about what happened, but given Alex’s personality and how private she seemed to be, Jonas knew that was unlikely.

He also couldn’t help but dream about their encounter. Kissing her under his bedsheets, her musky scent, the friction as he slid his cock between her legs, the memories pulled him in, wrapping him in a sensual warmth during dull moments in class. He wanted to touch her again, kiss her, but he also didn’t want to screw things up by pushing anything if she wanted to be alone. If she changed her mind about...whatever this was between them, he’d do his best to let it go.

When Jonas got home, he suppressed a sigh when he saw that Alex wasn’t there, then pretty much serial smoked behind the trees in their backyard. When he bumped into Alex’s mom he wasn’t surprised to find out that Alex was hiding out in her room. _Sure, whatever,_ he thought, _if this is how it’s going to be then I can let it go, too._ Later that evening he watched television until nodding off on the couch, then dragged himself up three flights of stairs before collapsing into bed.

Jonas was jolted awake by a warm hand on his shoulder. “I can’t sleep again,” Alex said in a soft voice. He could make out her silhouette, but he couldn’t see her features. She paused, as if asking permission, and slipped into bed after Jonas moved over for her.

He felt confused again; did she want reassurance or...something else? But Alex curled up against his back, holding his hand tightly after he draped his arm across her waist. After several minutes, her form stilled, and Jonas knew she was asleep.

There it was again, that warmth. He wanted to keep the nightmares at bay for her, and apparently his presence was enough. Still, Jonas struggled a bit to keep his arousal at bay, because her ass was pressed perilously close to his growing erection. _Come on, Jonas, think of something else...think of science homework or...Ren naked…_ That seemed to do the trick, and the feeling abated, allowing him to drift into slumber.

 

*****

His arm, trapped under Alex’s torso, was completely numb the next morning. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, so he oh-so-carefully pulled himself free. Jonas cringed as he flexed his hand, gazing down at her form. The sheets were pulled up to her chest, but he couldn’t help but notice freckles that covered part of her shoulder, and light ones across the bridge of her nose. She seemed so delicate and...small, but not in a weak way. He ran his palm down her shoulders, but pulled away, a little worried that touching her while she slept would cross a line that he wasn’t sure still existed between them.

He showered and got ready for school, came downstairs and saw Alex fully dressed, eating cereal. He sat down across from her and began eating, pondering what he should say, how it would be appropriate, whether it would make her uncomfortable…

Jonas cleared his throat. “I, ah, see that you seem to be sleeping better. Did you wake up during the night at all?”

Alex looked at him and gave him a small smile that he was starting to recognize as a bit of shyness. “I woke up a couple of times, but fell back asleep quickly.”

Jonas nodded. “That’s good. I’m glad...well, I’m happy that I could help in...whatever way.”

“You did. Thank you.”

“Yeah, sure.”

He stared at his frosted mini-wheats, and came to the conclusion that this was as good a time as any to say something, and it was best to clear the air sooner than later.

“Listen, Alex. Umm...about the other night. I really enjoyed what happened, but I also want you to feel comfortable. This isn’t very...normal circumstances, so if you want to cut it off I completely--”

“Do you want to cut things off?” Alex asked, her eyebrows raising.

“No! No, not at all I really...really, enjoyed it. A lot.” Alex blushed, and Jonas stared back down at his mini-wheats. _Focus._ “I just want you to know that I want what would make you most happy. If anything starts to feel...weird, just let me know. All right?”

He was shocked when her small smile turned into a devilish kind of smirk. “Definitely, Jonas. I really, really enjoyed it, too.”

“Umm…”

“And I hope we can continue, you know...this.” She waved between them.

Jonas nodded slowly, and let out a shaky breath. “Yes...definitely.” _Whatever _this_ is. _


End file.
